Prior to the 15th century, gunpowder was used on a limited basis, but its use became universal in the early modern period, its apex occurring during the Napoleonic Wars from 1792 to 1815.

Prior to the overthrow of the French monarchy in 1792, Monseigneur equated to His Royal Highness or His Serene Highness when used as part of the title of a royal prince, as in Monseigneur le comte de Provence.

Prior to the implementation of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Act 1996 enacted by the British Parliament, Hong Kong represented its interests abroad through the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices ( HKETOs ) and via a special office in the British Embassies or High Commissions, but the latter has ceased after the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the PRC and became a special administrative region ( SAR ) of the PRC in 1997.

Prior to the meiosis process the cell's chromosomes are duplicated by a round of DNA replication, creating from the maternal and paternal versions of each chromosome ( homologs ) two exact copies, sister chromatids, attached at the centromere region.

Prior to its expansion under Philip II, the ancient kingdom of Macedonia, to which the modern region owes its name, lay entirely within the current Greek province of Macedonia.

Prior to his march to Jazira, tensions had grown between the Zengid rulers of the region, primarily concerning their unwillingness to pay deference to Mosul.

Prior to the arrival of the Tai people and culture into what is now Thailand, the region hosted a number of indigenous Mon-Khmer and Malay civilizations.

Prior to the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region approximately corresponding to the Western and Central parts of province of Macedonia in modern Greece.

Prior to 6000 years ago, evidently the vast Sahara region to the south was better watered, more a savanna which could support herds ; yet then a desiccation process set in, leaving a more parched desert as it is today.

Prior to the Hellenic era, two civilizations had existed within the region, the Minoan and the Mycenaean.

Prior to the arrival of Māori settlers in the 13th century, much of the modern Canterbury region was covered in scrub and beech forests.

Prior to the European settlement of Australia, the Benalla region was populated by the Taungurong people people, an Indigenous Australian people.

Prior to 1921 " Uzbek " and " Sart " were considered to be different dialects ; " Uzbek " was a vowel-harmonised Kipchak dialect spoken by descendants of those who arrived in Transoxiana with Shaybani Khan in the 16th century, who lived mainly around Bukhara and Samarkand, although the Turkic spoken in Tashkent was also vowel-harmonised ; " Sart " was a Qarluq dialect spoken by the older settled Turkic populations of the region in the Ferghana Valley and the Kashka-Darya region, and in some parts of what is now the Samarkand Province ; it contained a heavier admixture of Persian and Arabic, and did not use vowel-harmony.

Prior to that time the region was populated by a variety of Native American tribes.

Prior to rail traffic, this region of Northern Illinois received stagecoach traffic.

Prior to the French Canadian settlers, indigenous peoples known as the Mississippian culture and earlier cultures had been living in the region for more than a thousand years.

Prior to the advent of the Dutch, the region was at the heart of the Mahican tribe.

Prior to around 1915, The Coos region was largely isolated from the rest of Oregon due to difficulties in crossing the Coast Range and fording rivers, and the Pacific Ocean was used to link people to other areas, including San Francisco, which was an easier two-day trip compared to traveling inland over rugged terrain.

Prior to the invasion by the Roman Empire, the region was Celtic and the city there was named Segestica.

Prior to that, it had been claimed but with no control over the region by Somaliland since the 1991 events of the Somali Civil War.

Prior to its use as the name of the city, the term " the Saguenay " or ( less commonly ) " Saguenay Valley " had already been used for the whole Saguenay River region ( see Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean ).

Prior to Islam, the people in this region worshiped Bajir ( or Bajar ).

Prior to 1945, the town was the centre of the German-speaking region known as Egerland, and was part of the Northern Austro-Bavarian dialect area.

Prior to this, logging companies had been investing into the region: with easier access, natural resources could now be exploited on a larger scale.

Prior to 1 November 1970 Southern's coverage did not include all of the Hannington transmitter region ( Berkshire and northern Hampshire ) either, or the county of Surrey.

Prior to World War 2, there was a higher percentage of endogamous marriages than after World War 2.

Prior to that he was associated with Long Island University in Brooklyn.

With the Prior Analytics, Aristotle is credited with the earliest study of formal logic, and his conception of it was the dominant form of Western logic until 19th century advances in mathematical logic.

Prior to its proclamation as a British settlement in 1836, the area around Adelaide was inhabited by the indigenous Kaurna Aboriginal nation ( pronounced " Garner " or " Gowna ").

Prior to modern times, there was no distinction between architects, engineers and often artists, and the title used varied depending on geographical location.

Prior to his death, according to the Book of Jubilees, Amram was among those who went to Egypt and recovered the bones of the sons of his grandfather and great uncles ( excluding those of Joseph which had already been brought to Canaan ), so that they could be reburied in the cave of Machpelah.

Prior to the First Buddhist Council, it was proposed that Ananda not be permitted to attend on the grounds that he was not yet an arahant.

Prior to the 1950s, Alberta was a primarily agricultural economy, based on the export of wheat, beef, and a few other commodities.

Prior to creating the Asterix series, Goscinny and Uderzo had previously had success with their series Oumpah-pah, which was published in the Tintin magazine.

Prior to the Revolution, New Englanders consumed large quantities of rum and beer, as maritime trade provided them relatively easy access to the goods needed to produce these items: Rum was the distilled spirit of choice, as the main ingredient, molasses, was readily available from trade with the West Indies.

Prior to the emergence of the term Mizrahi, the term " Arab Jews " was sometimes used to describe Jews of the Arab world.

Prior to this definition, it was used by Persian-speakers ( and others influenced by Persian ) to denote the Pashtun people.

Prior to the tunnel being built, the LIRR's western terminus was Atlantic Street at Clinton Street.

Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc during the night of 22 May 1885.

Prior to the controversy surrounding Agent Orange, there was already a large body of scientific evidence linking 2, 4, 5-T to serious negative health effects and ecological damage.

Prior to 1991 the law was stricter, when changes more clearly defined which businesses were exempt such as pharmacies, hospitals, and restaurants.

Prior to the release of the VHS Volumes, a laserdisc titled Beavis and Butt-Head: The Essential Collection was issued in 1994, containing sixteen episodes from the second and third seasons.

Prior to 1969, the National League champion ( the " pennant winner ") was determined by the best win-loss record at the end of the regular season.

Prior to 1931, as soon as the first necessary run to win the game scored, the play was over, and the batter was credited only with the number of bases needed to drive in the winning run.

Prior to the South African tour, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and a planned tour of Germany in the fall of 1980 was canceled.

Prior to the 1963 Act, it was chaired by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Commons.